when do you change your tyres?

my rear is nearly down to the wear band in the middle, so i know its due, but last time i got it replaced, the fitter was surprised i was changing it so soon, he said most people would get another 500-1000 miles out of it.

How quickly will you cover 500-1000 miles? What tyre is it? (some go off quicker than others).

Personally, I change the tyre when the grip starts going, regardless of how much tread is left.

its a michy pilot sport, it still feels good, i only got it fitted in june, (i did write down the milage when i fitted it, but cant find it)

Personally I would have changed it at the point it was when we returned from the Ring trip! It's fine for dry but if you get caught in the rain you don't have a lot of water dispersal left in that tread!

[timwilky]

change it when you become concerned.

some seem to wait until it has tipped over the point where it is now a safety issue. Others when they loose confidence. you know it ain't worth the risk.

Originally Posted by cartwrim

Personally I would have changed it at the point it was when we returned from the Ring trip! It's fine for dry !

that was the plan, as i thought it would be toast, but it was ok on the MM weekend

Originally Posted by cartwrim

but if you get caught in the rain you don't have a lot of water dispersal left in that tread!

what would that result in? would it be ok at slow speeds, or in a straight line?

it was wet when coming home from the 80miles wostershire(?)
but it felt fine, and i kept it down to less than 100mph

When it gets a bit too flat, I do a lot of motorway miles . I run PR2's so they last ages. The rear is starting to cause the bike to fall over into corners and not flow into corners... But as long as I feel they are gripping then ill be happy. Besides I still have a tiny little bit writing to rub off the edge of the tyres...

currently my tires are on about 6K miles.

I tend to change them whebn the rim starts to make sparks on the road...

Seriously, it is safety more than anything. Leave it too long and it could be an accident waiting to happen.

In the case of rear tyres, when you can see horizontal cracks in the tyre just above the point where the mesh starts to show. In the case of front tyres, when they get so 'peaked' (opposite of squared off) that turning/handling is heavily comprimised (for me this happens quite a while before the tyre is actually worn out).

Originally Posted by hovis

what would that result in? would it be ok at slow speeds, or in a straight line?

it was wet when coming home from the 80miles wostershire(?)
but it felt fine, and i kept it down to less than 100mph

Well the tyre has to contact the tarmac rather than water, right...so when the tyre lands on the water on top of the tarmac, it has to push it somewhere so it can get through to the tarmac and grip. Part of the way it can do that is to push it into the grooves that form the tread on the tyre. I reckon with a slick tyre, what happens is that up to a point you grip just fine, as the whole tyre pushes water to the sides, past the edge of the tyre. I think there'll be a point past which you will aquaplane - and that will be aquaplaning completely, which if you had tread might not happen (only one part of the tyre might aquaplane, separated by the tread, if you have tread showing).

So I reckon you'll basically go from the grip being fine to zero grip when you have a slick. It wouldn't be progressive at all. Might be wrong though, waiting for someone to correct me